The Scarlet Lady, a cruise chartered by LGBTQ+ tour operator Atlantis Events, has been denied entry to Egypt, days after being blocked from Turkish waters. Around 2,000 passengers, including Broadway star Patti LuPone, were informed Thursday morning by a note slipped under their cabin doors that the ship would not dock in Alexandria. Rich Campbell, chief executive of Atlantis Events, said the decision came as a surprise, noting the company had completed a similar itinerary last year without incident. The Egypt stop had already been added as a replacement for Turkey, where authorities canceled the ship's arrival, citing the group's association with behaviors "not aligned with the structure of our society and our moral values." No official reason was given by Egyptian authorities for the latest denial. The 10-day cruise from Athens to Venice was rerouted to Chania, Crete, on Friday and will now stop in Montenegro on Sunday. Randy Slovacek, a passenger on board, said in a blog post this was the first time in Atlantis Events' 36-year history that a ship had been denied docking in two countries in one week. Kyle Olsen, owner of Hermes Holidays, another LGBTQ+ tour company, said Turkey's refusal likely influenced Egypt's decision and expressed concern that other nations may follow. He noted that while governments may impose bans, such views do not necessarily reflect those of local populations, with whom LGBTQ+ travelers have historically had positive experiences. Passengers had paid for private tours to visit the pyramids and museums, with many waking at 6am in anticipation of the Alexandria stop. Campbell called Turkey's original decision "stunning," adding that 13 prior Atlantis cruises had visited Turkey without issue and that efforts involving the US embassy failed to overturn the ban. LuPone shared her reaction on Instagram, expressing shock over the developments.
A government denying port access to a cruise based on the sexual orientation of its passengers exposes a policy rooted in exclusion, not security or logistics. The sudden reversal in Egypt, after a last-minute itinerary change from Turkey, signals how swiftly rights can be overridden by political posturing. When nations act in sequence to bar the same group, it normalizes isolation under the guise of cultural protection. The rerouting to Crete and Montenegro does not erase the message sent: visibility still provokes resistance.
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